In the summer of 2007, a young woman from the Albany area was paid hundreds of dollars from then-Assemblyman Dennis Gabryszak's legislative budget.

Her position was "administrative assistant." But co-workers do not recall ever seeing her at the Legislative Office Building, or in any government business setting with her boss.

She was remembered as an employee at a local hotel that lawmakers stayed at during the legislative session. The Times Union is not publishing her name because the newspaper could not reach her.

Her relationship with Gabryszak's office is one of many things investigators with the Joint Commission on Public Ethics have asked about in meetings with former Gabryszak staffers in recent weeks, including as recently as this month, according to interviews with people involved.

She was paid $315 in July and August 2007 for the state Assembly position. In 2008, payments to her came back to the Assembly, according to public records. The documents say a check for $283 and another for $630 were returned.

JCOPE investigators have sought information about her by talking to many of the seven former female Gabryszak staffers who have complained to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver about alleged harassment by the Depew Democrat, according to interviews. He quit the Assembly in January, about two weeks after Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he should either deny the accusations or resign.

The investigators have also been interviewing other Gabryszak staffers, who have not complained to authorities, according to interviews.

JCOPE staffers have sought information on whether Gabryszak used staff for campaign work while on the state clock. They're also examining his expense reimbursements and travel records, according to people involved in the interviews.

Terry Connors, Gabryszak's lawyer, said he has no information about the woman. Connors said he is aware that JCOPE is actively looking into matters involving his client.

The probers have talked with Gabryszak's former chief of staff, Adam Locher, Connors said. Locher could not be reached.

Lawyers for six of the seven women who have accused Gabryszak of creating a hostile workplace are attempting to get the attorney general's office to agree to a settlement to prevent a lawsuit against the Assembly for failing to protect the women, according to people involved.

Among their allegations, the women say Gabryszak made unwanted advances, sexually tinged comments and lewd remarks to his female aides.

The former lawmaker has said he may have participated in banter among staff but never intended to sexually harass anyone.

A spokesman for Silver, Michael Whyland, said central staff had little information about the woman and it was unclear why her pay was refunded. It may reflect a check that was never picked up, he said.

Soares and Moreland files

Some people familiar with the concerns of investigators for the Moreland Commission say Albany County District Attorney David Soares received work product from the commission staff sometime after its chief investigator, Danya Perry, resigned in February. The material was unsolicited and may have been a signal of divisions within the panel, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

The case files and internal materials of the commission, set up a year ago by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, have since been seized by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District Preet Bharara. He took over investigations after Cuomo discontinued the commission in late March, drawing criticism about the panel's abbreviated lifespan from the federal prosecutor.

What Soares, a member of the commission, did with the material is unclear, but he sought feedback on the materials. His spokeswoman would not confirm her boss' receipt of such records, adding that the office would have no comment because of the ongoing federal probe into Moreland matters.

According to numerous published reports, Bharara's interests include actions by the Cuomo administration in directing activities of the commission. Cuomo's chief counsel, Mylan Denerstein, will be speaking with Bharara's team in early August.

By then, Denerstein may be packing up her office on the second floor of the Capitol. Several people familiar with her plans say she intends to enroll her children in the greater New York City area for the upcoming school year and plans to find new employment downstate.

A spokesman for the governor would not say what Denerstein's resignation plans are and would not confirm she is going to be meeting with Bharara's office.

Her departure could result in more than one exit from the Cuomo administration: Denerstein's husband, Philippe Cadet, holds a job in the Albany headquarters of the Division of Criminal Justice Services as a senior juvenile justice analyst.

Officials with DCJS and Homeland Security could not explain the cross-agency arrangement, but Cadet appears to be doing well: He has received performance raises in each of the last two years to grow his annual salary to $90,303. He currently doesn't get that sum after switching from full time to an 80 percent workweek.

As for Denerstein's $169,100 post, if Cuomo draws from the ranks of lawyers in the executive chamber, assistant secretary Alphonso David is a possible replacement.

Bruno book deal

Although officials with Skyhorse Publishing and his lawyer would not confirm it, former Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno intends to produce a book about his experiences in the past few years defending himself against the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District. It twice brought him to court on allegations of fraud. He beat the charges in May.

A person familiar with Bruno's book deal said Bruno found the publisher through his friendship with Roger Stone, whose recent book "The Man Who Killed Kennedy: The Case Against LBJ," is in the Skyhorse stable.